Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
PROTECTIVE GAI~tENT
Background of the Invention
The invention pertains to protective garments for athletes.
Many devices have been proposed and used in the past for protective pad~
and like apparatus for use by athle~es, espe^ially those in co~Ldct sports such
as football and hockey. The shoulder pads currently used in such games, well
known and famlliar to the general public, are representatlve of the problems
the prior art protective devices pose.
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In general, the prior art pads are made of layers of heavy rigid material
llsuch as leather held on by straps. Although many changes have been made over
the year~, the basic design has remained the same. The weight of the pads
,lleads to fatigue, and is uncomfortable. The rigidity of the material makes the
pads liable to shift when hit, or when the athlete moves within the gear,
leavlng the wearer vulnerable. Because the surface of the pads is hard, they
can cause injury to the members of the opposing team. Although some efforts
have been made to alleviate this (see U.S. Patent No. 3,146,461 issued to one
of the inventors herein) the pads so ~ade have met with little success.
It is thus an object of the invention to provide a protective garment which
will provide adequste protection to an athlete, while being light in weight.
It is a further ~b~ect of th~ invention to provide a protective garment
25 ,which will be comfortable to wear.
It is a sti~l further ob~ect of the inventor to provide a protective
garment in whlch the padding will not shift, leaving the wearer unprotected.
The materials used in prior art pads have, in general, been in the for~ of
rigid plates of set form, which fit haphazardly to the athlete's body. This
lessens the protection available.
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It is an object of the inYention to provide a protective device which wlll
conform to the body of the wearer.
Earlier designs tend to restrict the freedom or movement of the wearer.
This is especially critical to quarterbacks in foothall, or hoc~ey plsyers in
general. The pads are incapable of moving with the joint to be protected, if
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;any attempt is made to protect the joints at all.
It i5 thus an object of the invention to provide a padded garment whicb
will allow the wearer to move freely, while still providing adequate
protection.
Sum~ary Of The Invention
The invention provides a protective garment for athletes made of stretch t
material. Pockets on or in the garment hold pads, shaped to conform to th~
body of the athlete, firmly and accurately in position for minimum dislocation
of the pads. The pads are preferably made of heat-formable plastic material
which is lightweight and highly impact absorbent. The combination of
lightweight, formed pads and a stretchable garment results in a comfortabl~
protective device which wlll move with the ath]ete without unduly restricting
his movementS.
Description Of The Drawing
Figure 1 shows a view of the preferred embodiment of the invention.
Figure 2 shows a cut-away view of one part of the preferred embodiment.
1 Figure 3 shows the construction of ~he pads used in thc pr~f~rred
embodiment.
DPscription Of The Preferred mbodiment
! ~igure 1 shows the lnvention, in its preferred embodi~ent as a vest-like
garment to be worn by an athlete com?eting in contact sports such as~ for
example, hockey or football.
The body of the invention is a shirt or vest (1) ~ade of a stretc~lable
material. ~e have found DuPont Lycra~ material to be especially suitable for
this application because of its qualitles of multlple-way stretchability and
breathability. Other materials, however, ~ay be substituted within the
teachings of the invention. The vest may be made with half-sleeves as sho~n~,
or with lon~er or shorter sleeves, depending upon the areas of psdding desired.
The vest may be closed or lacing, as shown~ or by a zipper or Velcro~, or ~ay
be simply made by a one-piece "slip-on" sweater type garment. ~ drawstring (8}
r~ay be provided to further fasten the vest in place.
A porket ~s ~ttsched to the surface of the vest~ preferably on the in~ide
surface~ over each area to be protected by padding. In the prefe~red
embodiment, when designed, for exa~ple, as a hockey vest, the pockets are
located at least over the acromio-clavicular joint area (2), and extended down
,and along the wearer's chest and back to cover at least part of the pectoral
and upper trapezius muscles. Additional pockets (3) and (4) may be included to
extend protection along the humerus and detoid muscle. Additional pocket~ can
be provided for rlb protection (5). The shoulder area pockets cou~d be
slightly overlapped, as shown, or separate. The slight overlap is preferred as
doffering superior protection.
1 A pad of impact-absorbing material i6 fitted into each pocket (2)-(5). The
pad is formed to the wearer's silape, in order to fit rlosely in position with a
,minimum of shifting. We have found that the- best ~aterials for this
application are those which can be custom-molded at relatively low heat, such
as materials currently used for lightweight splints and guards. An ideal
material 9 at least in part, is a closed-cell polyethylene foam plastic such as
BXL Plastazote~, a nitrogen filled closed-cell, cross-linked polyethylene foa~,
which ~ay be cut to shape, heated in an ordi~ary oven to l~O~C (250nF3 and thcn
molded to the wearer. When cool, lt will retain its shape. The pads may be
inserted into and removed from the pockets eas~ly. Thus, washing both the
garment and the pads is made a simple matter.
I
! Although closed-cell foam such as Plastazote~ is very impact-absorbent (it
ls often used for g~nnasium mats), and possess a considerable degree of
rigidity when cool, we prefer to add a layer of rigid plastic for strength.
Figure 3 shows the preferred construction of a pad for use with the invention.
The inner layer can be rigid plastic material such as Lexan ~ or polyethylene
plastic. Preferably9 the rigid layer is a polycarbonate9 such as Tuffak~ ,
heat moldable at 14~DC. With such a material, a "sandwich" is made of a
central layer of polycarbonate (17~ surrounded by layers of closed cell foam
(16) and (18), and heat molded as a unit. The polycarbonate provides rigidity
while the foam absorbs impact. To an extent, the outer layer also saves to
protect the opponent on impact, as well as the wearer. The co~bination
material makes for a pad which is extremely lightweight, tough and washable.
As an alternative, a flexible non-heat fonned foam, such as Ensolite~,
co~lld be attached to the heat for~ed rigid core9 at a slight loss in
effectiveness. Figure 2 shows a cross-section (along line 2 on Figur~ 1), of
'the shoulder pad (2) area, using the preferred 3 layer pad as described above.
30 IThe rigidity of the polycarbonate core ~12) permits the pad to "bridge" above
the wearer's shoulder (9) joint, leaving a gap (15) and transferring impact
force to the pectoral and trapezius ~uscles. The clGth of the vest (10) and
,
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1 pocket (14) conform closely to the outer layer of the yad (Il) and wearer (~),
respectively, holding the pad tight]y in position by the vest and in plDce on
-the wearer. The "bridge" allows free movement of the shonlder jcint.
For greater comfort, the pads co-lld be provlded with perforations , so that
the pads can 'breath , allowing perspiration to escape.
For football linemen, or other high~ p;lct: h~dy co~ltact siL~s;ionc, an
additioDal pad could be provided on top of the others described. Other pad
configurations would be possible for use with other sports within the teachings
of the invention. A garment in tbe form of pants, with pocke~s and pads for
thigh and knee protection, is al50 possible.
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j Accordingly, it is to be understood that the embodiments of the inveneion
15,1herein described are merely illustrative of the application of the principles
of the invention. Reference herein to details of the illustrated embodiments
l;are not lntended to limit the scope of the claims ~hich themselves recite those
!I features regarded as essential to the invention.
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